Chapter 522: What’s a Posthumous Name?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
There was a huge commotion in the court.
When King Li of 7.11011 was still alive. he was conferred the title of King of Dingbei and guarded the North.
When it was Yin Huaixi’s turn, the emperor added the title of King of Wumu on the foundation of King Dingbei. It was a little intriguing.
According to Jizhong discovery, “The strong and wise call it martial arts, and it can quell calamity and chaos.”
According to the Posthumous Law, “Wu is related power while Mu means righteousness.
In history, there were only a handful of people who had been given the posthumous title of Wumu. Almost every one of them was an unprecedentedly famous general. Yue Fei had been given the posthumous title of Wumu after his death.
It was obvious how important the word “Wumu” was in every dynasty.
The emperor conferred the title of King of Wumu on Yin Huaixi. How much did he value him?
However, the problem was that the word Wumu was mostly a posthumous name in history.
What was a posthumous name?
It was a posthumous title for the “dead” to remember their deeds, morals, and meritorious deeds when they were alive. A posthumous title was to commemorate meritorious deeds and remembering someone. It could also belittle people.
Previously, the emperor conferred Yin Lixing the title of King Li of Zhou.
A minister in the court jumped out to object and pointed out that the word “Li” was not moral. It had the meaning of “desolation, violence, killing, and evil.” It should not be used.
The emperor said bluntly, “The previous emperor named his younger brother the word ‘Li’ because it means strict, solemn, fierce, sharp. Over the years, his younger brother has been like the sharp blade of the country, peaceful in the inner town, and fierce outside. He did not let the previous emperor down. He should be given the title ‘Li’ to show his ancestors’ virtue.”
“Wumu” was definitely a posthumous title for the dead and no living person had it. Yin Huaixi was still alive, so why had he been conferred the title of Wumu?
Did he feel that only the word “Wumu” was enough to show how much the emperor valued Yin Huaixl?
Or did she want Yin Huaixi to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and contribute to the Great Zhou?
Or was it because the emperor wanted to use the word “Wumu” to intimidate the court so that they wouldn’t dare to bully Yin Huaixi because he was young and sick?
In short, no matter what the emperor was implying, since he had conferred the title of King of the North to Yin Huaixi, no one in the court dared to say anything.
The news spread outside the palace and entered Yu Youyao’s ears.
Yu Youyao was so angry that she almost cried. “What exactly does that dog emperor mean? If he wants to be conferred a title, so be it. What title can’t he give? Must he give such an inexplicable title to Cousin?”
Did he think that his cousin was an eyesore if he was alive, or did he think that his cousin’s health was too good? Did he hope that his cousin would die early and reincarnate?
There was a charcoal stove in the room, and there was a grill made of wire on it. The venison was roasted until it was glossy and sizzled. The room was filled with the fragrance of roasted venison and the faint fragrance of wine.
Yesterday’s stag was not small. Everyone in the residence was given some, but there was still more than half left.
Yu Youyao collected deer blood and found an ancient recipe to make deer blood wine. She also made some deer blood powder and liked roasted deer meat very much.
Zhou Linghuai turned the venison over and roasted it. When he felt that the venison was almost done, he picked it up and used a knife to cut it into small pieces that were convenient to eat. He handed it to Yu Youyao. “The venison is roasted. Eat it while its hot.”
Yu Youyao was full of anger. “How can I still eat it?”
Zhou Linghuai smiled. “There was a famous general in the previous dynasty called Wumu. You’ve read a lot of history books recently. Have you read his life stories?
Yu Youyao nodded. “General Wumu had outstanding military achievements. Due to his high contributions, he was cruelly killed by the Imperial Court on New Year’s Eve because of a groundless crime. Later on, he was framed for more than 80 years before the truth was exposed!”
Zhou Linghuai praised, “The history books weren’t read in vain. 14 years after
General Wumu’s death, Prime Minister Qin died of old age. The Qin family lost power and the pro-war faction in the court saw General Wumu as a chance of quelling the rebellion. They wanted to quell the rebellion for General Wumu but were rejected by Gaozong.”
Yu Youyao had always been smart and understood immediately. “General Wumu’s death was caused by Emperor Gaozong, if General Wurnu’s name was cleared, Gaozong’s dignity and reputation will be tarnished.”
How similar was this to when her cousin had avenged King Li of Zhou?!
Zhou Linghuai continued, “It wasn’t until the financiers tore up the peace negotiations and mobilized troops to invade the south in a dangerous autumn that the pro-war faction asked again for General Wumu and Mu Zhaoxue. Gaozong was forced to put on a show and pardoned the people from the Yue family who had been exiled. This move had nothing to do with resolving the rebellion. He was only forced by the situation to be benevolent. General Wumu kept carrying the name of a so-called traitor.”
Yu Youyao knew that this was only the beginning.
‘Gaozong abdicated and his son, Xiao Zong, ascended the throne. In order to balance the power of the pro-war and pro-peace factions in the court at that time, he redressed General Wumu’s grievances. However, in his retaliation, he wrote about General Wurnu’s death in a vague manner. He admitted General Wumu’s grievances, but he refused to say it directly. He did not conduct any screening and review of General Wumu’s injustice. The retaliation was not thorough enough, so General Wumu was still left with a stain and was criticized by the world.”
Yu Youyao nodded. “After Gaozong abdicated, he called himself the emperor emeritus and refused to give up his power. Xiao Zong’s reign was influenced by his father and he did not take General Wumu’s grievances too seriously. It was just that because of the strong request of the pro-war faction at that time, they had no choice but to do this. However, the retaliation was not thorough, and General Wumu still suffered an injustice.”
“In the 17th year of Xiaozong’s reign, the Imperial Court officially bestowed a posthumous title on General Wumu. The Taichang Temple wanted to apply for a posthumous title of ‘Loyalyu’, but it was rejected. The outcome of the review was, ‘According to the posthumous law, the imperial army will be punished and General Wumu will obtain the posthumous name of ‘Wumu.’”
Yu Youyao frowned. “General Wumu was wrongfully killed for ‘rebellion’. No matter how important he was and how good his reputation was, he was demoted from ‘Loyalty’ to ‘Wumu’. This was how Xiaozhong’s reign belittled General Wumu, but it’s still not completely redressed. To General Wumu, the word ‘Loyalty’ is more important than any word.”
Zhou Linghuai nodded. “After that, those related to General Wumu still couldn’t calm down. They remembered that their loyalty had yet to be revealed and their grievances had yet to be resolved. They kept looking for an opportunity to redress their grievances.”
Yu Youyao was not a fool. He was also a meritorious general who had died unjustly, but General Wumu had been struggling for many years and could not be appeased.
However, King Li of Zhou’s case had been cleared in a few months.
Was this really just because her cousin had pacified Shandong and the world?
That might not be the case!
Back then, even though the Jin people had fought their way to Jiangbei, Emperor Gaozong still cared about his dignity and was unwilling to seek justice for General Wumu. What was a mere Shandong?
Zhou Linghuai continued, “It wasn’t until Ningzong ascended the throne after more than ten years that Ningzong did something about Minister Qin’s title of King Shen. He changed his posthumous name from ‘Loyalty’ to ‘Disgrace’ to point out his sins. However, good things are always delayed. With the loss of power of the pro-war faction and the return of the peace faction that restored the title of Minister Qin, General Wumu still hasn’t received a proper title from the Imperial Court..”
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